The Rangers loved what they saw out of Alexi Ogando five
days ago (5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 4 K against Tampa Bay) and therefore opted
to give him the start for today's pivotal battle with the Royals in Kansas
City.

The veteran right-hander has had a good deal of success on
the road, where he's 5-3 with a 3.18 ERA in 14 total appearances. In limited
meetings, Ogando has held Kansas City's batters to a .179 average in 67 total
at-bats.

James Shields takes the bump for Kansas City and he's been
looking very strong over his past couple of starts. He went eight strong in
Cleveland and then struck out 10 in six innings against the Indians again last
week.

Shields has had a hard time finding consistency at home
though – will that have an effect on Willie's sports picks here? Indeed it
does, as he's picking the Rangers at a nice price of +115.

Andy Pettitte just announced that he will retire at the end
of the 2013 season. Let's see how he does in what's likely to be his
second-to-last start in baseball at home against the Giants.

Pettitte hasn't enjoyed the best of seasons, but he's still
been solid for the most part. At Yankee Stadium he's struggled though, going
4-4 with a 4.62 ERA in 13 starts, with opposing teams batting a combined .300
against him.

Since Yusmeiro Petit's near perfect-game, he's logged 11 and
2/3 innings and has given up 13 hits and seven earned runs. He's won all three
of his road outings this season but has surrendered 20 hits and eight runs in
18.0 innings.

The Yankees are still in the hunt for a playoff spot, but
time is certainly running thin. Ron isn't touching a money-line play though –
his initial instinct was to take New York – and is preferring the UNDER 9 runs
with his MLB picks.

The Indians are hoping to cling on to that Wild Card spot,
with a host of other teams hoping they falter. That makes this afternoon's
matchup in Cleveland all the more important.

Cleveland will match up against Erik Bedard, who's been a
complete disaster on the road. He's 1-8 with a 5.75 ERA in 16 starts outside of
Houston. Plus, his recent performances have left a lot to be desired,
considering he's 1-5 with a 4.56 ERA since the All-Star Break.

On the other hand, there's Corey Kluber, and he's been a
nice source of stability in the rotation for the Indians this season. He's
managed a 4-2 record with an impressive 2.71 ERA at home in 2013 and he's yet
to lose over the second half of the year either.

Willie isn't willing to back the Indians though at such a
high price (-250), so he'll be taking them on the run-line, which is at -120 in
the MLB odds.